SURW Surewest Communications (MM)

ROSEVILLE, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Leading independent telecommunications holding company SureWest Communications (NASDAQ:SURW) released the following statement which can be attributed to its President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Oldham: "Today the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, took initial steps to liberate one of the last consumer groups that remains victimized by lack of choice among cable television providers -- the large segment of Americans who live in rental apartments and other multi-unit dwellings. The FCC's action offers hope that these consumers will soon be able to have the same video programming choices as owners of single family dwellings. ( Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050908/SFSUREWESTLOGO ) "Today's cable marketplace promotes restrictive transactions between this country's largest cable operators and the owners of apartment complexes -- exclusive deals that harm both competitors and consumers. The inertia that has resulted over the years is inherently anticompetitive. We have been forced to respond with our own developer initiatives, but we would much prefer to compete by emphasizing directly to individual renters the features and benefits of our advanced services -- selling to the people who will actually use and pay for those services. "SureWest is very encouraged by the FCC's action, and we commend FCC Chairman Kevin Martin for his initiative. We look forward to the opportunity to show more Sacramento area renters what great products and services SureWest already makes available to others in the region." About SureWest Serving the Northern California region for more than 90 years, SureWest Communications (http://www.surewest.com/) is one of the nation's leading integrated communications providers. SureWest's bundled offerings include an array of advanced digital video, high-speed Internet, local and long distance telephone, and PCS wireless services. SureWest's fiber-to-the-premise IP-based network features high-definition video and symmetrical Internet speeds of up to 50 Mbps. CONTACT: Ron Rogers Public Relations Manager 916-746-3123 . http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050908/SFSUREWESTLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: SureWest Communications CONTACT: Ron Rogers, Public Relations Manager of SureWest Communications, +1-916-746-3123, or Web site: http://www.surewest.com/

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